“Opinionated: Kansas Journalists Who Proved Why Commentary Matters—Then and Now” by Clay Wirestone is an excellent book dropping on September 29, 2026. Even if you don’t live in Kansas or have a strong connection to the state, this book is a must read! 

The research is incredible! Even though I’ve obtained three graduate degrees from various universities in Kansas, Wirestone digs up stuff I’ve never known about. It is one of the best non-fiction books I’ve read this year. It is also one of the best Kansas and news-related books I’ve ever read!

While it is like drinking water from a firehouse, it also leaves you wanting more, and that more is available! Wirestone shares pictures of buildings that are still standing, and information from articles, interviews, and podcasts the reader can dig up. He even gives you a section called “Further Reading.” In addition to accessing these resources and learning more about the people mentioned in “Opinionated,” I want to hit the road and visit some of the places described! 

The book starts with explaining how Kansas held a place of unique importance leading up to the Civil War. It was an environment where abolitionists and pro-slavery forces had their own newspapers and were often engaged in a battle of words. “A flabbergasting 733 newspapers were being published.” 

Kansas was the center of the country. Settlers on both sides of the issue moved into Kansas to help change the balance of slavery issue. That tradition of publishing commentary continued into the next century.

“Opinionated” provides condensed biographies for a dozen historical Kansas editorial writers from the 1920s through 1970s in various cities and towns. This time period can easily be considered the golden age of newspapers. As an example, Colorado Springs, my hometown had two daily newspapers. In the 80s after that golden age, one of those disappeared.  

In between those biographies for the golden age, Wirestone provides insights into how things have changed and does an excellent job of connecting the past with the present. “But we live in a compressed age, one in which pithy social media posts and 20-second video blasts dominate the conversation. Have courage to take the time and space needed for a mature, nuanced argument.”

The book discusses the importance of local opinion writers and how they gave small towns the attention they needed to prevent them from slowly losing “their vitality” and proving they matter. Local papers provide lots of support. Residents feel like they have a champion. They stay hopeful and feel like things are getting accomplished. They feel part of something larger than themselves! 

In his chapter on Jack Harris of Hutchinson, Wirestone discusses the importance of having local staff and the problems with corporate news ownership. In 2023, the Hutchinson News ran a front-page story about Hutchinson senior citizens, except these were seniors in Hutchinson, Minnesota! The hedge fund ownership based in New York was out of touch with the local community.

Parts of the book made me nostalgic for the old days of staffed newsrooms and the smell of newsprint in each town. Thankfully, the future of local newspapers may not be so bleak. The Hutchinson, Kansas story helped motivate a high school student to start an online newspaper for the community that provided quality editorials and local news.This might be the wave of the future and a way to keep the community connected.

One of my eye-opening chapters was African American journalist Nick Chiles of Topeka. I’ve studied a lot about black history in the area, and was surprised to learn material I missed about Chiles. History teacher Sonja Czarnecki unearthed a lot of great material about him. I’m planning to read her article about him in the journal Kansas History. 

I also loved Wirestone’s commentary and research about how this country is where it is politically. He discusses the divide between the urban and rural areas and offers many examples of how rural communities evolved politically. After World War II, the population shifted even more from rural areas to urban centers. Rural areas then had a lot of respect for business owners who stayed and created jobs. This helped alter the community’s politics, as business owners encouraged the community to “support anti-union laws and tax policies generous to businesses.” 

Wirestone talks about the difficulty of communicating today when folks are so entrenched in their side of the political spectrum. He explains how newspaper commentary can become a two-way interaction with the community. They can shape each other! At the same time the community can change, so can the editorial views. If we can open up that kind of dialogue again, maybe more of us would look out for the common good.

I highly recommend this book to anyone interested in Kansas history. This is also a great book for those interested in journalism and media history. The advice for future editorial writers is excellent. If you’re interested in the history and evolution of editorial writing or media history, this is the book! 

TOPEKA, Kan. — Topeka-area writers will take center stage during a new downtown event designed to connect local authors directly with the people who read their work.

Write On Topeka is scheduled for noon to 3 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 3, at Cosmos Court, 909 S. Kansas Ave.

The free, family-friendly showcase will bring together writers from Topeka and surrounding communities. Visitors will be able to meet participating authors, learn about their work and purchase signed copies of their books.

The event gives readers an opportunity to discover new voices without traveling to a major literary festival or waiting for a nationally touring author to visit the city.

It also provides local writers with something that can be difficult for independent and emerging authors to find: a public space where they can introduce their work, speak directly with readers and become more visible within their own community.

While Topeka’s visual artists, musicians and performers are regularly featured through festivals, gallery walks and concerts, the city’s literary community is often less visible. Write On Topeka aims to give those writers a dedicated place in the local cultural calendar.

The showcase could include authors working across a variety of genres, potentially giving visitors the chance to browse fiction, poetry, history, memoirs, children’s books and other locally written work in one setting.

Organizers are still inviting Topeka-area writers to participate as featured authors. Sponsorship opportunities are also available for businesses and organizations interested in supporting the event.

Admission is free, and food and drinks will be available for purchase at Cosmos Court during the showcase.

The downtown location may also help introduce authors to readers who would not ordinarily attend a formal book signing. Instead of placing the event inside a bookstore or academic setting, organizers are creating a casual gathering where families and curious visitors can meet writers without feeling as though they need to arrive already familiar with their work.

Write On Topeka is being promoted by GrubNPubs.com, a local guide focused on food, drinks and entertainment in the Topeka area.

The event will be held from noon to 3 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 3, at Cosmos Court, 909 S. Kansas Ave. It is free and open to the public.

Authors and potential sponsors interested in participating can contact the organizers through Cosmos Court.

Additional details are available through the official Visit Topeka event listing.

Austin Lee Williamson, born Sept. 11, 2005, was booked at approximately 4:10 p.m. on Sept. 1 under booking number 2026-00006166.

Booking records list two allegations associated with warrant 26CR1348. The first is described as breach of privacy — disseminating sexual media of a person 18 years of age or older, first conviction. The second is listed as criminal threat — causing terror, evacuation or disruption.

The booking report lists a $50,000 bond amount for each allegation, with the bond type shown as C/PS.

The booking information does not provide details about what allegedly occurred, the identity of any alleged victim, or the circumstances leading to the charges.

Williamson is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty in court.

A Topeka-area woman was booked into the Shawnee County jail Sunday on an allegation of battery against a healthcare provider while that provider was on duty.

According to the booking information, Rachel Ann Reed, 43, was booked at 11:55 a.m. on August 31, 2026, on warrant 2026-71846.

The listed offense is “Battery Against a Healthcare Provider, while on duty.” Her bond was listed at $1,000.

The booking report alone does not provide details about the circumstances surrounding the alleged incident, including where it occurred, who the healthcare worker was, whether that person was injured, or what allegedly led to the confrontation.

And Reed, like every person accused of a crime, is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty in court.

But the allegation itself raises a larger issue worth discussing.

The people who care for everyone

There are few professions in our community whose fundamental purpose is as universal as healthcare.

Nurses, physicians, technicians, aides, paramedics and other healthcare workers don’t get to choose only the easy patients.

They care for people who are frightened.

They care for people who are angry.

They care for people experiencing addiction, mental-health crises or the worst moments of their lives.

They care for people with money and people without it. They care for the insured and uninsured, the powerful and the forgotten. They care for people who made good decisions and people living with the consequences of terrible ones.

The emergency room does not ask whether someone deserves compassion before trying to stop the bleeding.

That is precisely why allegations of violence against healthcare workers should trouble us.

Violence cannot become part of the job

Anyone who has spent time around an emergency department knows healthcare isn’t always calm.

Patients can arrive intoxicated, disoriented, terrified, combative or in extraordinary pain. Families may be experiencing one of the worst days they will ever have.

Healthcare professionals understand that.

But understanding why someone is behaving badly cannot mean accepting violence against the people trying to help them.

We should be particularly careful here because we do not know from this booking report what allegedly happened in Reed’s case. A booking entry gives us an accusation and little more. The evidence, circumstances and Reed’s side of the story belong in the judicial process.

The broader principle, however, doesn’t require knowing the outcome of this particular case:

People should be able to go to work at a hospital, clinic, ambulance or other healthcare setting without expecting to be assaulted.

A societal concern bigger than one arrest

Healthcare workers occupy a peculiar place in society. Eventually, almost every one of us will need them.

Maybe it will be after a car accident.

Maybe it will be while sitting beside a sick child at 2 a.m.

Maybe it will be during addiction, psychiatric crisis or homelessness.

Maybe it will simply be at the end of a long life.

At that moment, we expect someone to be there.

We expect the nurse to walk into the room.

We expect the paramedic to kneel beside us.

We expect the aide to help our aging parent.

And we expect them to continue doing those jobs despite seeing humanity at some of its most difficult moments.

There is something particularly disturbing, then, about violence directed toward the very people whose job is to help us when we are at our most vulnerable.

That doesn’t make every allegation true. It doesn’t diminish due process. And it certainly doesn’t justify prejudging the person whose name appears on a booking report.

But presumption of innocence and societal concern can exist at the same time.

Rachel Ann Reed is entitled to the first.

Healthcare workers deserve the second.

This Is Topeka reports arrests and criminal allegations as matters of public record. An arrest or booking is not proof of guilt. All defendants are presumed innocent unless proven guilty in a court of law.

Jack Johnson will bring his SURFILMUSIC Tour 2026 to Morton Amphitheater in Riverside, Missouri, on Tuesday, Sept. 1, with special guest Lake Street Dive.

Doors open at 5 p.m., with the show beginning at 6:30 p.m. The concert is all ages. Johnson’s official tour site lists Morton Amphitheater’s capacity at 14,759.

For Topeka-area fans, the show offers a chance to see an artist whose career took a decidedly unusual path to the top of the music industry.

Before Jack Johnson Was a Music Star, He Made Surf Movies

Long before millions of listeners knew songs such as Better Together, Banana Pancakes, Flake, Upside Down and Sitting, Waiting, Wishing, Johnson’s world revolved around surfing.

Johnson grew up on the North Shore of Oahu, Hawaii, and says he started playing guitar when he was 14.

And here’s a piece of Jack Johnson trivia you probably wouldn’t guess from his famously mellow sound: two of the first songs he learned on guitar were Metallica’s “One” and Cat Stevens’ “Father and Son.”

That’s quite a musical combination for the man who would eventually become synonymous with laid-back acoustic rock.

Music wasn’t initially his primary career, either.

Before releasing his debut album, Johnson was a surf filmmaker. His work on the 2000 surfing documentary Thicker Than Water helped expose audiences to his music and ultimately contributed to the path toward his debut album, Brushfire Fairytales, released in 2001.

Then Came In Between Dreams

Johnson’s easygoing combination of acoustic guitar, folk, rock and pop steadily built an audience during the early 2000s.

Then came 2005’s In Between Dreams.

The album helped propel Johnson into mainstream popularity and contained several songs that remain closely associated with him today, including Better Together, Banana Pancakes and Sitting, Waiting, Wishing.

A year later, another generation of listeners discovered Johnson through the soundtrack to the animated film Curious George, which included his hit Upside Down.

The result is a somewhat unusual fan base in 2026: people who discovered Johnson during the early acoustic-rock boom now attend alongside listeners who first heard him as kids.

The Environmental Work Isn’t Just Part of the Image

Johnson’s connection to Hawaii and the ocean has also shaped what happens away from the stage.

He and his wife, Kim, co-founded the Kōkua Hawaiʻi Foundation in 2002, supporting environmental education in Hawaii. Programs have included school gardens, recycling initiatives and environmental education for children.

In 2008, the couple also founded the Johnson Ohana Charitable Foundation, which supports organizations focused on environmental, art and music education.

That work follows Johnson onto the road.

A portion of proceeds from his tours supports the Johnson Ohana Foundation, while his All At Once initiative connects concertgoers with nonprofit organizations working in communities near tour stops.

In other words, the surfer/environmentalist identity surrounding Johnson isn’t simply branding added after he became famous. It has been intertwined with his career for decades.

Lake Street Dive Joins Him in Kansas City

Tuesday’s concert also comes with a substantial opening act.

Lake Street Dive will join Johnson in Riverside as support for this leg of the SURFILMUSIC Tour.

The group blends pop, soul, rock and jazz influences, making the pairing particularly suited to an outdoor late-summer concert.

Kansas City is near the end of this portion of Johnson’s tour. After playing Dallas Sunday, the tour arrives in Riverside Tuesday before continuing west to Colorado, Utah and Lake Tahoe.

Jack Johnson — Kansas City Concert Details

Who: Jack Johnson with Lake Street Dive
Tour: SURFILMUSIC Tour 2026
When: Tuesday, Sept. 1, 2026
Doors: 5 p.m.
Show: 6:30 p.m.
Where: Morton Amphitheater, 6150 NW Music Blvd., Riverside, Missouri
Admission: All ages

Official Jack Johnson concert information

Tickets through Live Nation

For Topeka fans willing to make the drive, Tuesday night offers something different from the arena-sized pop and hard-rock shows that have dominated Kansas City’s recent concert calendar.

It’s Jack Johnson, an outdoor amphitheater and a late-summer evening—which feels about as appropriate as a Jack Johnson concert can get.

Jace Russell Cattoor, 20, was booked at approximately 4:35 a.m. on Aug. 30, according to Shawnee County booking information provided to This Is Topeka. The booking lists three allegations:

• Driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs
• Purchase, possession or consumption of alcohol by a person between 18 and 20 years old
• Speeding

The booking information indicates Cattoor was arrested on warrant 2026-11679. The listed DUI allegation does not specify the severity, and the underage alcohol allegation is listed as a first conviction offense. The booking record lists no bond on the allegations.

Publicly available booking information also independently shows Cattoor was booked in Shawnee County at 4:35 a.m. Aug. 30 on a DUI allegation.

Cattoor remains on Washburn’s current baseball roster

Cattoor is currently listed on the 2027 Washburn Ichabods baseball roster, making his connection to the university current rather than simply that of a former player.

Washburn Athletics lists Cattoor as a junior utility player, wearing No. 46. He is listed at 5-foot-11 and 190 pounds and is originally from Arvada, Colorado, where he attended Ralston Valley High School.

According to his official Washburn biography, Cattoor redshirted during the 2025 season and did not appear in a game during the 2026 season. He was nevertheless named to the MIAA Academic Honor Roll in both 2025 and 2026 and is majoring in accounting.

Washburn separately announced in June that Cattoor was among 14 members of the Ichabod baseball program named to the 2026 MIAA Academic Honor Roll.

Charges remain allegations

The arrest comes before the beginning of Washburn’s 2027 baseball season. As of Sunday morning, Cattoor continued to appear on the university’s official roster.

An arrest or booking is not a finding of guilt. The allegations against Cattoor will be subject to the court process, and he is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.

This Is Topeka will update this story if additional court records become available or Washburn University announces any change to Cattoor’s status with the baseball program.

Officers were called to the area of SE 6th Avenue and Branner Street at approximately 10 p.m. Sunday, August 30, following a report of a vehicle striking a pedestrian.

When officers arrived, they found the pedestrian, who was pronounced dead at the scene.

According to police, investigators believe the pedestrian was struck by a black passenger car. The driver allegedly left the scene following the collision.

The victim’s identity had not been publicly released as of the latest update.

The Topeka Police Department’s Accident Reconstruction Unit is investigating the fatal crash as officers work to identify the vehicle and driver involved.

Police are asking anyone who witnessed the collision or who may have information about the vehicle or driver to contact authorities.

The incident occurred along SE 6th Avenue, a major east-west corridor through Topeka, near its intersection with Branner Street.

No arrest had been announced as of Monday morning.

This Is Topeka will update this story as police release additional information about the victim, suspect vehicle or investigation.

This is a developing story.

Erwin Tyrone Lockridge Jr. was booked into the Shawnee County Department of Corrections at 1:50 a.m. Saturday, August 29, jail records show.

Lockridge was booked on a warrant alleging intentional and premeditated first-degree murder and criminal discharge of a firearm at an occupied dwelling. Both allegations are associated with warrant number 2026-69184 and carry a listed $1.5 million bond.

The arrest represents a major development in a homicide investigation that began less than a week earlier.

18-year-old found dead on SE 23rd

Topeka Police were called shortly after 12:05 a.m. Sunday, August 23, to the 2300 block of SE 23rd Street following a report of a shooting.

Officers found Stockman unresponsive at the scene. He was pronounced dead, and police subsequently identified the 18-year-old as the victim. Authorities began investigating his death as a homicide.

Police announced Lockridge’s arrest six days later.

Booking record reveals additional allegations

Lockridge’s latest booking also includes a second warrant, 2026-69124, carrying a listed $75,000 bond.

That warrant includes allegations of:

• criminal discharge of a firearm at an occupied dwelling;
• felony criminal damage to property;
• aggravated endangering a child involving a child under 18; and
• aggravated assault with a deadly weapon.

The booking record does not, by itself, establish whether the allegations under the second warrant stem from the Stockman homicide or a separate incident. That distinction will likely become clearer as court records and charging documents become available.

Lockridge remains presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty in court.

The combination of the murder allegation and the separate warrant also raises additional questions about the circumstances surrounding Lockridge’s arrest and whether investigators are examining other alleged incidents involving gunfire.

This Is Topeka will continue following the case as additional court filings and information from investigators become available.

Dolly Parton belonged to all of us.

Parton, the unmistakable voice behind “Jolene,” “9 to 5” and “I Will Always Love You,” died Tuesday at the age of 80, closing an extraordinary life that carried her from a one-room cabin in the mountains of Tennessee to stages around the world.

She became one of the greatest songwriters country music has ever produced. But somewhere along the way, Dolly became something bigger than country music.

She became part of America.

There was the hair, the rhinestones and that wonderfully self-aware sense of humor. Dolly could tell the joke before anyone else had the chance—and usually tell it better.

Behind all of it, though, was an uncommon generosity.

Her Imagination Library, inspired in part by her father’s inability to read and write, grew from a small Tennessee literacy program into an international effort that has put hundreds of millions of books into the hands of children.

It was quintessentially Dolly: enormously ambitious and remarkably simple.

Give kids books. Give people a chance. Be kind.

She spent decades singing about heartbreak, poverty, working women, love and the complicated lives of ordinary people because those were lives she understood. Fame never seemed to erase the little girl who grew up as one of 12 children in the Smoky Mountains.

Perhaps that’s why losing Dolly feels different.

For all the division of modern American life, Dolly Parton remained one of the increasingly rare people nearly everyone seemed happy to claim as their own. Country fans loved her. Pop fans loved her. Grandparents loved her. Their grandchildren did, too.

She somehow managed to become larger than life without ever seeming above anyone.

The rhinestones will remain in museums. The songs will play for generations. Somewhere tonight, someone will hear Whitney Houston sing “I Will Always Love You” and perhaps remember that those extraordinary words began with a young songwriter from Tennessee named Dolly Parton.

And somewhere else, a child will open a book that arrived at their home because Dolly believed that child deserved one.

For a woman who spent a lifetime writing unforgettable endings, perhaps that’s the most fitting one.

Goodbye, Dolly.

And thank you for leaving the world a little kinder than you found it.

TOPEKA, Kan. — A nationally recognized rapper closely associated with Kendrick Lamar’s recent music is scheduled to perform at an intimate Topeka venue this weekend.

Lefty Gunplay will headline a concert Saturday, Aug. 29, at the Topeka Sports Cabaret, 4216 NE Seward Ave.

Doors are scheduled to open at 8 p.m., with the show beginning at 9 p.m. The event is limited to guests 18 and older, with identification required for bar service.

Lefty Gunplay, whose legal name is Franklin Holladay, emerged from the Los Angeles-area rap scene before gaining wider attention through his appearances on Lamar’s 2024 album GNX.

His distinctive voice can be heard on “TV Off,” one of the album’s most recognizable songs, as well as “Dodger Blue.” The high-profile collaborations introduced him to a much larger national audience and helped propel his career beyond Southern California.

The Topeka performance gives local hip-hop fans an opportunity to see the rising artist in a considerably smaller setting than the arenas and festivals commonly associated with major national acts.

Deuce Alley Productions is presenting the concert. The announced lineup also includes supporting performers CHU-CHO, GEEZGUALA, FATTZ, U-NEEK and BISSHOP GREEN. ACthePROMOTER and DJ Fab are scheduled to host the event.

General-admission tickets were originally advertised at $25 in advance and $30 at the door. Table packages, a meet-and-greet option and access to a designated VIP area were also promoted.

Online ticket availability appeared limited or unavailable as the performance approached. Those interested in attending should confirm availability directly with the venue or event organizer before traveling to the show.

Lefty Gunplay will perform Saturday, Aug. 29, at the Topeka Sports Cabaret. Doors open at 8 p.m., and the concert begins at 9 p.m.

Additional information is available through the official event and ticket page.